Summer Collegiate

They say every good party ends up in the kitchen.

Published

5 years ago

March 2, 2021

Well, baseball is a party, and in Nanaimo the gathering spot was the big wood stove down the hall from Kent’s Kitchen where former players, coaches, officials, volunteers and fans would all congregate.

The stove was the centrepiece of the Hall Of Fame Room in the bowels of Serauxmen Stadium. That stove is due to be rolled out the door this spring to make way for a new kind of baseball party – the Nanaimo NightOwls Baseball Club of the West Coast League, and the new team’s office space.

It was not sadness that trailed after that symbol of warmth and camaraderie, however. All those same players, coaches, officials, volunteers and fans had worked hard to someday attract a WCL team to their city so to see the space repurposed for such high-calibre ball was a treat, not a gripe.

“We’d have all these old guys come in and just B.S. about baseball,” said Kent Malpass, the man for whom the kitchen was unofficially named. He was one of the young guys who cozied up to that fire, when it first got kindled, and now he is the godfather of these goodfellas.

“If that room had ears, it would have lots of things to talk about. So many great people have worked to keep baseball in Nanaimo going and growing, and a lot of them ended up in that room having those conversations. So many of them have passed on now, great names, great people. Some are in a home now. That’s the way time works. And we’re in the middle of Covid and when that hit, it really shut it all down anyway.”

It was always Thursday morning that the regular gathering would happen, whether there was a ball game on that day or not.

“I’d get there at seven o’clock, and sometimes there were already people waiting to get in,” Malpass said. “They’d show up at 7:30, 8:00, trickling in, but there would often be a dozen of us just here for the conversation and seeing each other, talking about baseball and life.”

The big stove was never the point of these visits, but it was always the unspoken host. Even when there was a lull in the conversation, the crackle of the wood fire would evoke the crack of the bat.

“It’s a big stove. Huge,” Malpass said. “I’ve put wood in that thing at three o’clock in the afternoon and come back at 11 or 12 o’clock the next day and it would still be going.”

Kent and his Serauxmen Service Club members are much the same way. The Nanaimo charity group formed in 1967 over some beers and centennial cheers at the Tally Ho Pub. To this day, it is going strong and Nanaimo is its one and only chapter. They raise tens of thousands of dollars a year for all-local causes. They also pour tens of thousands of dollars worth of in-kind contributions and volunteerism into their community, and baseball is one of their chief loves.

Baseball brings people together, said Malpass, and baseball never ceases to draw in new people but never let go of anyone as they age. It’s something that grows with you no matter who you are or where you are, he said.

When Nanaimo seemed set to take a step up in the baseball world, back in the 1970s, Malpass and the Serauxmen were gleeful. Their club’s name is on the stadium because they took it upon themselves to lead the fundraising and logistics efforts to convert the former coal mine site into a ballpark that is still one of the best in B.C.

It opened in 1976 with a slate of celebrities on-site to throw the first pitches and cut all the ribbons. Malpass still glows at the memory of the top name on that fundraising ticket: the legendary superstar Mickey Mantle. Joining the Yankee Comet was another golden name from baseball’s history, Red Sox Gold-Glover and two-time all-star Jim Piersall.

“We took them fishing and showed them a good time,” said Malpass. “It cost the Serauxmen $5,000 to bring them in, which was a lot of money in 1976, but it worked really well. The place was packed.”

But that wasn’t the end of the Serauxmen commitment to Nanaimo baseball.

“Doug Rogers started the Nanaimo Pirates (of the BC Premier Baseball League) so his brother Danny and I used to do the equipment,” Malpass said, and that volunteer effort carried over into the whole youth baseball league where they would outfit up to 800 kids each year with uniforms, belts, helmets, socks, the whole kit. He would go on buying trips that needed a truck. “It was like Christmas for us, but everything was for the kids.”

A lot of the equipment distribution happened in that same room that eventually became the meeting space.

Malpass wore a lot of different volunteer caps over the years. He would paint the weathered spots on the fence, fix the broken boards on the bleachers, sweep the spilled popcorn, and he was a fixture in the concession kitchen. He grew up in the grocery industry and cooked in restaurants so this was his wheelhouse, but he also sold furniture, assembled satellite antennae, and other career moves that he always turned into a baseball double-play.

“I just love being at the stadium, being around baseball, being with baseball people, it’s a special thing,” he said. He pointed to the example of his friend Burt Lansdale who passed away and wanted his ashes scattered on the pitcher’s mound at the stadium. As the ceremony was going on, as the congregation bowed their heads in prayer, the automatic sprinklers suddenly popped on without warning. Malpass chuckled that even the stadium itself wanted to pay respects to someone who loved being there so much.

“People have a connection to this sport, because it’s more than a sport,” he said.

“Look at what Jim’s done (NightOwls General Manager Jim Swanson) with the team. The Owls were a team in Nanaimo in the 1920s which is where he dug up the name. It’s paying respect, it’s embracing tradition even when you’re doing something new.”

Malpass is excited to see the new team, the new league, and the new level of baseball Nanaimo has grown to embrace. He feels he, his friends, his neighbours, and the Serauxmen club members all had a hand in earning it. He’ll gladly sacrifice more volunteer time and work on the home stadium to make it happen. It’ll keep him as warm as any wood stove whose time has now passed.

That stove is not going to the scrap heap, though. Like the Owls name, it is just changing its context. The stove was a popular item for buildings that still could use that crackling heat, and it will be finding a home that will be fully aware of the history that comes with it.

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – Cats Defeated by AppleSox in Game Three

Published

7 hours ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The HarbourCats have been kept quiet in two straight games after a powerful offensive showing in game one. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Victoria, B.C. – In a winner-take-all matchup against the Wenatchee AppleSox, Victoria’s bats came up short, falling 3-1 to the visiting AppleSox and losing the series.

The AppleSox claimed the first advantage in game three of this head-to-head series, rocking a rare double off of Erik Rico (Fresno State) and cashing in the run for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

BOX SCORE

It wasn’t until the top of the fifth when Wenatchee would add on, smashing a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the fifth. That bomb ended the outing for Rico, who gave up three runs today on five hits and notched nine strikeouts. Leif Friedrich (Concordia-Nebraska) took his place and finished off the inning

The HarbourCats finally got themselves on the board in the bottom of the eighth, with a costly Wenatchee error allowing Lukas Le Gras (Westmont) to score from second. Michael Rodda (Palomar) got on base due to the error, but ended up being stranded by a popup to end the inning.

Davis Lee hit the ground running to retire the side in the top of the ninth. (Photo by JPM Photography)

Friedrich ended up going a solid 3.1 innings, allowing just two baserunners and striking out three. He was swapped out for Davis Lee (Calgary) prior to the top of the ninth, and Lee worked quickly and carefully to retire the side and get two strikeouts of his own.

The HarbourCats offence struggled tonight, coming up with only one run. Logan Shepherd (Mercer) and Declan Brown (Ottawa University) both walked in the bottom of the ninth to get the tying run on base, but Victoria was unable to capitalize with runners on and eventually dropped the rubber match of the series 3-1.

WCL STANDINGS

After an off-day tomorrow, the Cats will head up island to Nanaimo for a three-game weekday series before returning home for the weekend.

Single game tickets for all HarbourCats games are now on sale at http://harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets, 12-pack and 32-pack game vouchers may also be bought online or by stopping by the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – AppleSox Surge Back Late to Tie Series

Published

20 hours ago

July 19, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

The Cats got off to a hot start but fell behind in the late stages of the game. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Victoria, B.C – The second game of this head-to-head series swung the other way, with Wenatchee taking a 7-2 victory over the HarbourCats.

BOX SCORE

It was home run derby champion Logan Shepherd that got things started tonight! The Mercer University infielder yanked a smooth line drive to the pull side to cash in Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD) from second and claim a 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning.

Both sides’ bats fell silent until the home half of the fourth, which Rohne Klein (San Jose State) led off. Klein only needed to see one pitch before absolutely detonating a fastball and sending it far, far over the opposite field wall at an unofficially measured distance of about a million feet.

Quincey Brown (UCSD) exited the game after an absolute gem of a start. The Seattle-born freshman went five innings without giving up a run, and refused to even allow a single baserunner over the last four. Daniel Tovar (Northern Kentucky) took over for him in the sixth, and his first inning of work went off without a hitch as the AppleSox were felled in order.

Quincey Brown added another exquisite start to his 2026 resume. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Tovar’s next frame wasn’t so quick and easy. The AppleSox found the right pitch and blasted it over the fence for a solo shot, cutting the Cats’ lead in half in the top of the seventh. The predicament grew when a few consecutive singles loaded the bases and two more runs scored on an error and a balk. When the dust settled on a chaotic seventh inning, Wenatchee found themselves up by one.

Carson Ackermann (Tacoma) was chosen to toe the slab in the eighth inning, and he let up a sacrifice fly that put the AppleSox up by two with one inning left to go. The right-hander returned for the ninth and Wenatchee got to him once again, bashing a two-run triple for a 7-2 lead.

Rohne Klein flexed his power with an oppo homer in the fourth. (Photo by Christian J. Stewart)

Try as they might, the HarbourCats could not recover from the AppleSox’ late-game onslaught, dropping the middle game of the three-game set by a score of 7-2.

WCL STANDINGS

The decider between Victoria and Wenatchee takes place tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 pm.

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Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats Beat AppleSox on Harvey’s Birthday

Published

2 days ago

July 18, 2026

Dugout Wire Service

Victoria, B.C. – The HarbourCats took on the division-leading Wenatchee AppleSox for the first time this season, walking away with a 9-7 win to open up the series.

If one thing was evident in the early stages of tonight’s ballgame, it’s that Jeremiah Arnett (Rice) had his best stuff. Fresh off of an All-Star Game appearance, Arnett racked up six strikeouts in his first two innings! The AppleSox would finally solve the Cats starter in the third inning, however, smashing a solo homer to take the lead. Wenatchee followed up with a double and a single before the end of the inning to extend their new lead to 2-0.

BOX SCORE

Victoria retaliated in a big way in the home half of the third. It all started with Dryden Fuoco (Hill College) reaching first base on a dropped third strike. After that, two singles loaded the bases with nobody out for the red-hot Bryan Bradshaw (UCSD), who pummelled a double down the left field line to bring in two runs and tie the game. Jacob Silva (UTSA) got his piece of the pie soon after, scorching a single through the infield and snatching a two-run lead.

It wasn’t long before the HarbourCats crossed the plate again. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the fourth, a pitch in the dirt got away from the Wenatchee catcher and ended up allowing two runs to come home when the throw to the plate went awry. A Kwakrifice play from Riley Kwak (Bossier Parish) provided a cherry on top, and Victoria left behind the fourth inning with a comfortable 7-2 lead.

Designated hitter Logan Shepherd (Mercer) singled to leadoff the bottom of the fifth, and the AppleSox did the rest of the work for him. Three wild pitches in the inning gave Shepherd room to advance to second, third, and finally home to push that lead even further.

Arnett took his leave after five innings in which he gave up two runs on six hits, striking out an impressive nine batters along the ride. In his place appeared Spencer Kratt of San Jose State. Kratt let a couple of runners on but made up for it when a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play brought a swift end to the inning.

Kratt vacated the mound after allowing two runs on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, and Taylor Franklin (George Fox) was tagged in as his replacement. Franklin buckled down and fulfilled his duty, punching out a batter to finish off the inning. The Cats returned fire in the home half of the eighth inning on a Michael Rodda (Palomar) single to set up a bigger buffer for the top of the ninth, Wenatchee’s last shot.

Victoria found themselves in some trouble in the ninth, with Flynn Warren (Hawaii Pacific) letting up three runs. His replacement, Anson Stuckly (Texas A&M Corpus Christi), was able to clutch up and put the finishing touches on a 9-7 victory over the AppleSox.

WCL STANDINGS

With the upper hand in the series, the Cats have a series win in their sights when they take in Wenatchee again on Saturday night at 6:35 pm.

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